The Hays County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) has identified a suspect in the theft of more than two dozen political signs, which the HCSO has recovered.

HCSO Criminal Investigations Commander Lieutenant Kevin Ficke confronted a 19-year-old Driftwood man Thursday about the stolen signs. The suspect admitted to Ficke that he and a 17-year-old friend took some political signs early on Feb. 14 and placed them in the yard of a friend as a practical joke.

The suspect was driven to the Leisurewoods subdivision near Buda, where 27 signs were recovered. The signs were for Hays County Precinct 2 commissioner candidate Mark Jones, Hays County judge candidate Peggy Jones and Hays County Court at Law No. 1 judge candidate David Mendoza.

The suspect’s license plate number had been identified after the HCSO worked with the communities from which the plates were stolen. The HCSO was made aware of the thefts on Tuesday.

The case will be turned over to the Hays County District Attorney’s Office for review and determination on any charges to be filed.

Since it involves 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat, I’m not sure what the connection would be. I don’t think it appears to be linked to any particular campaign. However, this sign theft seems to be a trend and these candidates are not the only ones who have lost signs. Lucy Johnson reported losing somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 to 50 yard signs. And I understand that her opponent, Michelle Lopez, also had a number of signs go missing. I hope the District Attorney’s office does something that will discourage this kind of theft in the future. Maybe some tough “block walking” for some candidates would be an appropriate punishment.